Conference Management Services
The Conference Management Team will support you and free you to focus on the content of your program. A unique blend of event organizers, writers, trainers, and planners with over 60 years combined experience, for your conference, symposium, workshop, lecture, or event.
Our exceptional team can help you work out every detail, provide expert advice, and offer helpful suggestions - working with you to fine tune your meeting to match the personality of your group, as well as your budget. We offer a spectrum of high-quality services to help you plan and carry out a successful event.
We partner with professional associations, governmental agencies, private industry and UM faculty and staff to manage and present conferences, trainings and meetings. As a university-based program, we appreciate the unique requirements of professional and scholarly meetings and have developed a highly focused expertise in support of programs ranging from small workshops to large international conferences.
We can schedule an initial consultation to discuss your event and the services needed. The fee for services is a flat rate based on the number of staff hours required to complete the services required. Contact us to request a consultation and proposal based on the specific services you need for your event.
Services
- Provide individualized consulting and advice to the planning chair and committees
- Attend and advise at planning committee meetings as requested
- Develop a master timeline and project notebook for implementation of all activities
- Research costs and prepare a comprehensive conference budget
- Establish an operating account for depositing and disbursing funds
- Manage financial operations of the conference
- Process payments for direct conference expenses
- Process honoraria and travel reimbursement for designated speakers or officials
- Monitor the program budget and provide an accurate accounting of program finances
- Advise planning committee on designing and implementing marketing strategies
- Coordinate with committee to identify appropriate mailing lists for distributing promotional materials
- Arrange for design, printing and mailing of save the dates, brochures and other promotional materials
- Maintain staff to respond to written, phoned and e-mailed requests for conference information
- Create a comprehensive marketing strategy to attract conference participants, presenters, and sponsors
- Collect and prepare materials to be included in an event program booklet or participant packet
- Coordinate design and production of event materials (posters, t-shirts, etc.)
- Reproduce speaker handouts or include in event program booklet
- Assemble registration packets
- Prepare signage for sessions and registration desk
- Coordinate with planning committee to develop evaluation tools
- Design a secure conference registration form
- Provide customer support for registration questions
- Maintain a customized registration database
- Customize acknowledgement for each registration with a confirmation and receipt for payment
- Provide regular participant registration updates to the planning committee
- Prepare final registration roster
- Coordinate on-site registration
- Research requirements for each CE agency and obtain application or online submission guidelines
- Coordinate application submission to the appropriate agencies to obtain approval for CE credits
- Create & distribute CE certificates
- Ensure approval of evaluation tool by appropriate entities
- Prepare and distribute final reporting packets to CE agencies as required
- Contact presenters and invited speakers and outline expectations, responsibilities and fee arrangements
- Coordinate travel arrangements
- Confirm audio visual needs and requirements
- Collect speaker biographical information and titles of talks
- Obtain all necessary handouts, presentations, etc. for reproduction or for inclusion in a program booklet
- Manage exhibitor registration
- Coordinate trade show needs with exhibitor
- Mail confirmation/logistics information to exhibitors
- Provide a receipt to each exhibitor
- Coordinate with meeting facility on exhibitor needs and layout
- Manage exhibitors on-site
- Schedule meeting rooms and specify meeting room setups, including a/v needs and requirements
- Coordinate catering arrangements
- Schedule rooms for receptions, banquets, or other catered activities, select menus; manage event details
- Prepare detailed conference schedule and confirm all logistical arrangements with facility
- Determine room block requirements for group
- Research hotels and lodging options
- Negotiate hotel contracts to include reduced group guest room rate, complimentary rooms and upgrades
- Research low-cost alternatives and arrange University housing and meal services when appropriate
- Arrange ground transportation and shuttle service as necessary
- Provide staff to manage on-site registration and information services throughout the conference
- Prepare and distribute name badges and registration packets at conference
- Manage all on-site meeting logistics with facility staff, including room set-up, room temperatures, and audiovisual
- Collect and compile detailed statistics for conference categories including registration and attendance, paper submissions, catering guarantees and actuals, hotel room usage, speaker and poster sessions
- Prepare a final conference summary
- Submit final reports as required
- Prepare any packets required by CE agencies - evaluation results, speaker handouts, sign-in sheets, etc.
- Print and mail CE certificates as necessary
- Coordinate and distribute thank you letters to speakers, panelists, facilitators, and hotel staff
- Process invoices and travel reimbursement payments
- Participate on planning teams and provide advice on building agendas, incorporating themes, recruiting dynamic speakers and trainers, creative brainstorming to make each event unique, etc.
- Record notes during planning meetings
- Coordinate videography of event
- Coordinate and host webinars with teleconferences
- Poster Session management
- Administer Call for Papers/Abstracts submission process
Current and Upcoming Conferences
Southwest Montana Wildland Fire Training is a distinctive project jointly sponsored by the University of Montana and the Southwest Montana Geographic Zone of the Northern Rockies Coordinating Group.
SW Montana Wildland Fire Training Center Website
University of Montana | Missoula, Montana